“Imagine an ancient Israelite, brought into the company of God’s people, still retaining the identity of an Egyptian slave… especially after having entered the promised land of Canaan. It would be mockery and out of place.”
Several thousand years ago, God came to the aid of ancient Israel. They were a people held captive by Pharoah king of Egypt, made to be his slaves, working day in day out with little hope of change. Except…. they cried out to Almighty God, the God who saw their plight. He heard their cries and answered them, and through a great display of His patience, power and love, set them free.
And their freedom was not just for the sake of being set free, but to now come under God’s good love and care to be trained in their new identity as God’s holy, chosen, free people. And within that identity represent to the nations what a relationship with a holy God looked like. Thus they became a “light unto the nations”.
This ultimately paved the Way for any nation to be able to come under the cover of God’s covenant love, and be brought into His family.
It’s a fantastic true story, the details of which are recorded in the historical books of Exodus thru Joshua in the canon of the Holy Bible. In the Bible you’ll also find the back story in Genesis, and a further unraveling of ancient Israel’s history in the rest of the Old Testament, with implications for today’s church and world in the New Testament.
The redemption of ancient Israel pictures redemption available now for all people – not merely from physical slavery, but more so from spiritual slavery. As they were trapped in physical slavery and set free by God, so today, anyone trapped in slavery to sin, God can set free through the good news of Jesus Christ – the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When we are confronted with this good news, and we cry out to God in repentance, He will set us free. The good news is that Jesus has paid the price for our sin (and slavery to it) by His life on earth, death on a cross, and resurrection from the dead. By His saving power He sets anyone free who believes in Him, and gives us a new identity by His Spirit, adopting us into His family and Kingdom.
Now imagine something with me, in either of those situations — in ancient Israel or with us.
Imagine if, an ancient Israelite, experiencing all what of God did in freeing them, and being literally brought into the company of God’s people, still identifying as an Egyptian slave… especially after having entered the promised land of Canaan. It would be mockery and out of place.
(Note, some of them did attempt this en route to that land, and died in their unbelief – outside of the promised land.)
No their new identity would be “redeemed people of God”. Free. A people consecrated by God to God, now made and referred to as His holy people, and referring to themselves as such as well.
Insisting on an old identity would make small the work of God.
In the same way, imagine calling yourself a slave to sin, or a sinner, when you’ve been set free and redeemed by Christ and brought into His family, into His kingdom, thus becoming a people made holy unto the LORD. Retaining an old identity would be mockery and out of place.
And this is what many do… dwell on their old “sinner” identity… which is detrimental to God’s church, and is causing an identity crisis in the church by not speaking into and living out the reality of our new identity. Test it yourself. How many times do you refer to yourself as a sinner, and how many times a saint (a holy one of God)? Does your language reflect the Biblical identity of prophet, priest, and king — holy unto the LORD?
Language matters.
Our new identity IS free IN Christ, a holy people, set apart for His service in this dark world. We today, represent, as ancient Israel did, what a relationship with God through Jesus Christ looks like to the nations. Not as slaves to sin, but as saints of God.
God used to live amongst His holy people physically in ancient Israel, and now lives within His holy people spiritually by His Holy Spirit. Holy people made holy indwelt by a Holy God.
Not sin-free, but those who have been set free from it.
Of course, remembering where we came from, which keeps us humble and grateful, yet no longer identifying with what we were. We identify with who we ARE in Christ.
Having a secure understanding of who we are in Christ as His holy people, His saints, keeps us stable in a world where identity tends to shift about as quickly as feelings change.
If there were ever a time for stability in identity, it is now. In Christ we find that stability.
“Sinner” is a remembrance word. An identity we were redeemed from. It’s also an action-inducing word that causes us to join Christ in the gospel call — for sinners to repent — and to join the ever increasing holy people of God, who will live and dwell with Him forever.
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